


Secrets

by Seraph Luray (PastelPanda)



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: M/M, Periods, Trans Character, Trans Male Character, bc fuck everything I like trans character headcanons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-19
Updated: 2017-08-19
Packaged: 2018-12-17 07:59:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11847312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PastelPanda/pseuds/Seraph%20Luray
Summary: They never kept secrets without a reason.





	Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> Alternatively titled: Mikleo Gets His Period At The Worst Possible Time.

They never kept secrets without a reason.

Since they could understand the concept of secrets, Sorey and Mikleo rarely--if ever--withheld secrets from one another.  The rare times they did, it was innocent, with the intent of a surprise.  Typically it involved Mikleo showing off a new arte (he could remember the glimmer in those verdant eyes as he first showed off his Twin Flow), or Sorey finding some kind of relic to show Mikleo.

So when Mikleo abruptly became more withdrawn, Sorey grew concerned.

It had started after their tenth birthday.  While on a hike through the Mabinogio Ruins, Mikleo had been walking more slowly, and he had mentioned his tummy feeling funny.  Sorey had brought him home, and the funny feeling grew into an ache so bad that the seraph couldn't move, crying and curling in on himself.  Sorey had immediately brought him to Gramps, who asked him to fetch Natalie and wait outside.

When it was okay to come back in, Gramps swiftly tore poor Sorey’s heart to bits when he told him that the two boys would be living in separate houses from then on.

“Mikleo is going through some special changes right now,” Gramps had told him.  “They're changes you won't go through, but it is a sign that Mikleo is growing.”

One part of Sorey had happy for his best friend because he was becoming an adult.  Another had been sad because it sounded like he himself wasn't, and one more was scared of living alone.

They had never been apart.

It had been difficult for both of them, and there had been many a morning when Sorey would greet Mikleo and they would both cry from being alone at night.  Each morning, Natalie would greet Mikleo as well, whispering to him.

He would never tell Sorey what it was about.

As the years passed and they got older, Sorey picked up on a pattern.  Every few weeks, Mikleo would get the same stomachaches, and during that time Natalie would spend quite a bit of time with him.  And after a few days, Mikleo would be right as rain, only for the cycle to repeat again.

It worried him to no end, and Sorey had asked if Mikleo was sick, but Gramps always insisted he was fine, just going through changes.

He had often wondered if they were some sort of changes that only seraphim went through, given that he had yet to go through them.  A part of him had wished that he could go through it too, so Mikleo wouldn't feel alone.

As they entered their teenage years, Sorey had noticed more differences, namely in appearance.  He grew taller and his chest and shoulders became broader, and his voice became deeper.  Mikleo, though he also became taller, maintained a slight figure, with a slim waist and curvier hips, and his voice remained light.  Similarly, Sorey had noticed that he wore more tight-fitting clothes, and their tickle fights had been deterred by the thick leather belts encircling Mikleo’s midriff.

He thought Mikleo was absolutely beautiful no matter what, but couldn't help but notice how self-conscious he seemed to become.

Even as they neared the age where they could finally cast off the stigma of being children (at least by human standards, as Mikleo was practically an infant among the seraphim), Mikleo would never speak a word of the changes he had been going through, until it became unavoidable.

“Sorey, it's our turn to hunt this week,” Mikleo spoke up as he approached Sorey, who was busily scrubbing mud stains from one of his shirts.

“It is?  I thought Mason was on hunting duty this week,” Sorey commented, wringing out the shirt and frowning when he saw that the stain stubbornly clung.

“He's on crop duty this week.  Ed hurt his leg again.”

“Alright.  I need to let this soak anyway, so let's get going!”

Mikleo smiled, eyeing the tub of water.  “I'll help you wash that when we get back.”

“Sweet!  You're the best, Mikleo!”  Sorey threw his arms around him, not missing the apprehensive way he tensed up.  It hurt him a bit to think Mikleo disliked his hugs--they hugged all the time as kids, but as they got older he seemed less willing to hug him.

“A-anyway,” Sorey stammered, letting go as Mikleo smoothed his clothes, “let's head over to the woods.  There should be plenty of prickleboars out and about.”

“Right.”  Mikleo nodded, leading the way.

As they made their way down the hill toward the woods that enclosed the ruins, however, Sorey noticed that Mikleo was slowing down, a hand on his lower stomach.  “Are you feeling sick?”

“Huh?”  Mikleo must have been zoning out, as the question had caught him off guard.  He shook his head after just a moment.  “No, I'm fine.  I just didn't eat much this morning.”

“Maybe we should go back and eat first,” Sorey suggested.

“No, it's fine, really.  I just need a moment.  We shouldn't be gone long, a few small ones should be plenty.”

“Are you sure?”

Mikleo sighed, gently bumping his shoulder to Sorey’s.  “I'm  _ fine _ , Sorey.  Let's just hurry and finish our hunt, Gramps said he has a new book for us to mull over.”

That seemed to be enough of an incentive, as Sorey stopped questioning him after that.  However, he continued to steal worried glances toward him, namely every time he heard a sound of discomfort from him.

It took almost an hour for the first prickleboar to show itself, but it was felled quickly.  Sorey grinned--it was pretty big, equal to almost two smaller ones--but when he looked toward Mikleo, he saw that the seraph was once more clutching his stomach, his staff planted into the ground like a walking stick.

However, his concern turned to alarm when his eyes drifted lower, and he saw dark red staining Mikleo’s pristine white pants, right in the crook between his legs.

“Mikleo, you're bleeding!” he gasped, immediately at his friend’s side.  The pain on the seraph’s face swiftly gave way to horror.  “Are you hurt?!  I-I'll get Gramps!”

Mikleo’s entire body shook, a mumble of “it's three days early” on his lips just a second before he broke into a sprint, beelining up the hill and leaving Sorey planted to the ground in shock.

After just a few seconds, however, he ran after him, distantly noting that Natalie was looking toward Mikleo’s house.  He didn't acknowledge that, however, as he stopped at Mikleo’s door and knocked.

There was no answer, but the two of them rarely waited for each other to open the door, so Sorey did just that.

He wasn't quite prepared for what he had seen.

In the middle of the floor sat Mikleo, clad in just his baggy tunic.  His laundry basin was filled with water, and he kneeling in front of it, was frantically scrubbing at the blood stains on his pants and underwear, muttering to himself all the while.

He didn't look up, and Sorey wasn't sure how to feel when Mikleo spoke.

“I-it started early, Natalie...I don't know why, I just felt a cramp and suddenly Sorey said I was bleeding and--I didn't want him finding out--what should I do, he's going to worry about me all week and--”

“...Mikleo.”

Sorey’s voice shocked Mikleo, who gasped sharply and whirled around, water splashing everywhere.  What little color was on his face drained all at once, his pallor as white as a sheet.  “S-Sorey?!”

“What’s going on?  You just took off running because I saw you bleeding, and...”

He looked like a scared child.  Sorey likened the way he tried to make himself seem smaller to the way Sorey felt when he accidentally wet the bed as a child.  His hands clutched the hem of his tunic, pulling it down over his lap a bit more.

“...I-I didn't want you to find out about this...” he all but whimpered.  “I've been hiding it for almost eight years now, and...”

“...is this why you always get those stomachaches?”

He nodded, head bowed and bangs covering his eyes.  “M-my body isn't like yours...not just because I'm a seraph and you're a human, but...in other ways...”

“Other...?”

“I-I'm still a boy, but my body is like Natalie’s.  I go through different things than you.  I...every month, I get bad cramps in my stomach, and I start bleeding from...”

He clutched and wrinkled the hem again.  “It hurts a lot, and I get so tired that I can't move.  Natalie gave me a bunch of bundled up cotton to catch the blood, but it started early this month, so I...”

“...All this time, this was what you were hiding?”

The tone in Sorey’s voice held no malice, no anger.  Rather, it was one of confusion.  Mikleo looked up at him at last, jumping when he noticed that Sorey had knelt in front of him with a warm smile.

“You know you didn't have to hide that from me,” he chastised gently.  “You're still Mikleo, no matter what your body is like.  I won't think of you any differently.”

He grinned at him, and that contagious joy of his made Mikleo smile.

“Here, I'll help you with your clothes, okay?  You change into your pajamas and rest.  I'll get Natalie for you when I'm done.”

Mikleo should have known Sorey wouldn't treat him differently.  It was foolish of him to hide something like this for so many years, and it was a weight off his shoulders to know that his worry was unwarranted.  Wiping his eyes, he stood--Sorey could see that he had already changed his underwear, and there was a wisp of cotton peeking out from under the fabric--and stripped off his tunic.

Sorey blinked when he noticed a tight, sleeveless garment under the tunic.  It looked like it was made of the same stretchy material as the tights Mikleo wore as a child, but a bit tighter, and the garment stopped just at the end of his ribcage.  Mikleo removed that as well, and Sorey noted with a blush that Mikleo had breasts, small and soft and cute just like the rest of him.

So that was why Mikleo avoided sharing a bed with him anymore.

He quickly averted his eyes before Mikleo could see that he was staring, focusing on scrubbing the stains out.  The water was biting cold, making his skin tingle and sting, but he did recall Gramps telling him that cold water was effective on blood stains after a nasty fall scraped up his knees as a child.

By the time the stain was out, Sorey had no feeling in his hands.  He tucked them into his pockets, looking toward Mikleo, who was finished changing into his sleepwear and was carefully climbing into bed.  Sorey stood to go fetch Natalie as promised, only for Mikleo to wave him over.

“...Mind sleeping with me?” he asked hesitantly.  “We haven't shared a bed since we were kids.”

Well, Sorey couldn't say no.  Kicking off his boots, he slipped into Mikleo’s bed, the seraph’s small form snuggling up close to his side.  Everything about him was soft, softer than Sorey recalled from their childhood, and Sorey couldn't help but wrap his arms around him and tuck Mikleo’s head under his chin.

There was a silence that stretched on for a long enough time that Sorey thought Mikleo was asleep, until he spoke.

“... _ Luzrov Rulay _ .”

“Eh...?”  Sorey blinked, looking down.  Mikleo was smiling, eyes closed peacefully.

“...My true name.  It's  _ Luzrov Rulay _ .”

The name rolled like water on Sorey’s tongue as he repeated it, and Sorey smiled, nuzzling against him.  “That makes two secrets you've shared with me.”

“And I have none left.”

That evening they awoke to the smell of herbal tea, and a note from Gramps for Sorey to take care of Mikleo, as this would be a constant in their lives for many more years.

**Author's Note:**

> SO I REALLY LIKE THE IDEA OF MIKLEO BEING TRANS OK FUCK WHAT THE SAUNA SKIT SAYS AND FUCK WHAT THE ALT COSTUMES SAY-  
> Anyway time for headcanons that apply to this whole thing:  
> -Seraphim who were formerly humans experience a handful of things that humans experience, and those who are genetically female (meaning cis ladies, trans boys, and NBs with vajoozles) still experience menstrual cycles.  
> -Seraphim who go through periods are unable to conceive children. It's kind of just an indication that they used to be human. They start once a seraph's body reaches the physical maturity that puberty would hit (so anywhere from nine to thirteen), and stop when a seraph is roughly 100 years old. (So a seraph who would have a period could choose to stay in a more childlike form until they were 100 and cheat the system, yolo.)  
> -Natalie was once human herself, a long-ass time ago. She still remembers what it's like, so she's willing to help Mikleo out with his predicament.  
> -Binders are a thing and no one can stop me. Natalie made a binder for Mikleo after his chest started developing more, because he felt uncomfortable with having boobs. Thankfully Mikleo's chest stayed pretty small (somewhere between an A-Cup and a B-Cup at best) so it was easy to squish them down.  
> -(Because this shit plagues me every month) Mikleo's cramps are typically so bad that he's bedridden until they go away. He physically cannot do a damn thing until it's said and done.  
> -(Also because I'm plagued with this) Mikleo has ruined a few pairs of pants and undies before. He just claims he wet the bed. Sorey's gullible enough to believe it.


End file.
